Braces
by abcRainbowPie
Summary: Zexion has braces and is really self conscious about them. Demyx on the other hand thinks they're cute.


In hopes to make up for the lack of updating and no Valentine's Day fic, I got this idea and just went with it. Zexion's written differently here, but personally I think the world needs more shy/self conscious Zexion. Though I'm not saying make him innocent. Nope, never innocent. I've also lately been really attracted to freckles and thought of Zexion with some so yeah, he has some here. Also gamer Zexion is something I'm really liking too.

This came out longer than I expected. Also sorry for any typos or missing words.

Enjoy~

* * *

It was the last class of the day and Demyx was having trouble focusing. He was mentally tired and bored from the prior classes. He was ready to go home and fall onto his bed, but he was failing this class and desperately needed to get his grade up so he was trying to focus the best he could, occasionally having his mind wander. Each time it did he mentally lectured himself and forced his attention back to class.

A couple days before he decided to go to his teacher and ask if there was any way he could get his grade up. His teacher told him he could gather some assignments for Demyx to work on and turn in before the upcoming break, as well as find another student who could help tutor him. Since then he's been waiting for his teacher to give him said assignments and tutor.

Once the bell signaling the end of the school day, students started packing their bags with their things. The teacher called for Demyx and the blonde quickly zipped his backpack and went up to the front desk. As he stopped in front of it, the teacher picked up a small pile of papers clipped together that was set aside and stood, handing the stack to the blonde.

"Here are the assignments for extra credit," he told him. "Don't worry about finishing them all, just do as much as you can before break. As for your tutor, I'm not sure if you two know each other, but this is Zexion," he said, gesturing to Demyx's side as another student came up to the desk.

The other boy was shorter than Demyx – coming maybe an inch above the blonde's shoulders – and slender in comparison. He stood a bit awkwardly, shifting from foot to foot as Demyx looked at him. There were hints of shyness too by the way he held his hands behind his back and how his shoulders were slouched slightly. He was avoiding looking at Demyx and the blonde quickly stopped looking at him in hopes it would make him feel less uncomfortable.

"He's agreed to help you with your studying. You two may go now," the teacher told them, gathering things on his desk to tidy up some before leaving school himself. Demyx nodded and muttered his thanks before turning for the door. He could hear his teacher call out, "Have a nice weekend," as the door closed behind him.

The halls didn't take long to empty out after the final bell. Students were always in a rush to get out of school to get either back home or somewhere with friends. Demyx didn't have any plans to go out somewhere and was just gonna head home until he heard the classroom door open again and turned to see the boy who was assigned as his tutor. Curious and knowing that he'd have to talk to him eventually, Demyx walked over to him.

"Hey, Zexion, right?" he asked mostly in greeting and to make sure he had his name right since he usually had trouble with them. The other gave him a shy side glance and small nod in reply before looking back ahead. "So when should we start the tutoring?"

"Whenever you'd like, I suppose," Zexion answered him, hanging his head as he spoke. His voice was a bit deeper than Demyx expected, but he found it suited the other in a way – even though they had just met.

"Are you doing anything today?" Demyx asked, rubbing his neck. "Sorry if I'm coming on too strong. I guess I'm a bit eager to get started on the work."

"It's fine," Zexion said, his head still down. "And no, I'm not doing anything today."

"Great, so um then should we go somewhere to work? Maybe a coffee shop?" he offered, pushing the school door open to step outside, Zexion pushing open the one beside it.

"Sure," was all he said in reply.

Demyx nodded to himself as they kept walking. Almost absently, he held up the papers still in hand and flipped through them, looking them over. He sighed at seeing some questions and had no clue to what they meant.

"It's not as hard as you think," he heard Zexion say beside him. "You just need the right information and it'll help you understand more."

"I'm sure you're right," Demyx said, looking at the papers again. They kept walking until reaching the nearest coffee shop. The walk wasn't bad or as awkward as Demyx worried it'd be. He just found that if he wanted to talk then he needed to be the one to ask questions, which he didn't at all mind. He asked the basics such as favorite things and hobbies and Zexion didn't seem at all bothered by the constant questions, not at all hesitant to answer. Though Demyx did notice that every time he spoke he ducked his head.

* * *

Since that day the two made more plans to work on Demyx's assignments. They went to the school library during lunch and the coffee shop become more frequent in both their daily routines. Demyx always bought himself either a hot chocolate or a treat from the counter displays. Zexion had actually never been to the coffee shop before and was starting to like it with each visit.

At the coffee shop they couldn't always get the same table due to the amount of people that also hang around there. By the setup of the small shop, their choices of where to sit were either a table with two chairs, seats at the higher tables lining the windows, one of the two small couches, or the small armchairs. They never really chose the armchairs since it wouldn't be as easy to look at the papers together.

During their times at the shop, Demyx came to notice a few things. One was that whenever they sat down on one of the couches – which were just big enough for two people to sit comfortably close together – Zexion always seemed more shy with the way he shifted each time Demyx leaned over to watch him write down notes to help the blonde understand more. He never seemed to sit as comfortably as he would in their chairs at a table – always pulling his leg or arm away when Demyx brushed against him.

It was hard to tell if Zexion was embarrassed by being so close to the blonde, since the smaller boy always sat to Demyx's left and he let his hair fall in front of his face most of the time. It wasn't until one day while they sat across from each other and Demyx had reached forward to grasp and move the other's hand to look at the paper under it did he notice the other blushing after pulling his hand away from the blonde's. At first it was hard to tell by the way Zexion hung his head down when talking or to avoid looking at Demyx, but the blonde was able to tell when Zexion stood and said he had to go home.

One more thing Demyx noticed about the other was that along with hanging his head when talking, he also often covered his mouth with his hand. It didn't bother Demyx really – the other spoke both loud and clear enough for Demyx to understand him – but he was curious to as why he did those things whenever he spoke.

About a week and half later they still were working on Demyx's extra credit assignments. Along with their other homework they managed to get a fair amount done and turned into the teacher within that time. That left them with two weeks until break and they decided not to stress too much on it. Zexion told Demyx that given the amount of work they had already done, they should be able to finish enough work each week before break.

On Wednesday during school, Demyx managed to find Zexion in the hall and stop him to ask if he wanted to go to the coffee shop after school to study. Another thing they needed to work on was studying for the quiz the teacher had assigned for the last day before break and it was the same class Demyx was failing in so he needed and wanted all the help he could get from Zexion.

"Yeah, sure," Zexion answered, adjusting his bag on his shoulder and ducking his head.

Demyx bit his lip as he walked beside the other, trying to hold back a question, but failed. "Why do you always do that?"

"Do what?" Zexion questioned slowly before glancing up at the blonde.

"Always putting your head down or covering your mouth when you talk," Demyx said, stopping in his tracks without really realizing it. Zexion stopped too, beside him, and put his head back down. The blonde leaned down slightly, enough to see and try to read the other's face. The first thing he saw was Zexion blushing and it threw him off. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. It's probably personal isn't it? I shouldn't have asked," he said, standing back up straight. "Sorry," he muttered once more.

Zexion smiled to himself at the way the blonde was apologizing. It was rather cute in a way. "It's fine," he reassured, looking back up at Demyx. "It's actually a stupid reason why I do it and I don't even realize I still do it most of the time now. I guess it just became a habit over the years," he said, tucking a few strands of hair back nervously. He was still blushing a bit and Demyx realized this was the first time he's actually looked up while speaking to him. "I have braces," Zexion admitted quietly. "And I'm just really self conscious about them. That's all."

"Oh, alright. Well at least I wasn't stepping over any line, right?" Demyx questioned relieved. Zexion gave him a small nod in answer. "Okay, good. So I'll see you at the coffee shop after school." With that he absentmindedly ruffled the other's hair before walking away to go to class, the contact making Zexion's shoulders tense and his blush to come back full force.

At the coffee shop they sat down at one of the tables and started their usual routine. Demyx got himself something to eat before sitting down and was currently eating it slowly while Zexion was working on his own homework. He hadn't realized it, but the blonde was actually watching the other boy. He didn't realize it until Zexion glanced up at him once then again at seeing he was being watched.

"What?" he asked quietly.

"Hm?" Demyx hummed in turn.

"You're staring at me," Zexion said, starting to duck his head while he spoke, his eyes remaining on the blonde as his hand came to his mouth.

Demyx blinked before realizing that he was indeed. He then silently lectured himself for staring – the other was already self conscious, staring surely would just make it worse. "Sorry," he mumbled, quickly looking down at the table. Zexion said nothing, instead just going back to his work. Demyx silently got out his own homework and started on it, eating the rest of his food while doing so.

"Is everything okay?" Zexion asked without looking up. He only did glance up when Demyx didn't answer him. "Something seems to be bothering you," he added.

"I'm fine," Demyx said a bit too quickly. It was enough though, as Zexion turned his attention back to the papers on the table. The blonde remained doing nothing for a short minute, wondering what was bothering him. He wasn't sure but he could feel that there was something. "Actually, Zexion," he said, finding what it was. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure," Zexion answered, resting his hand down on the table and looking up at the blonde again.

Demyx looked down and shifted in his seat nervously before meeting the other's eyes again. "Will you go on a date with me?" he finally managed to ask.

Zexion was thrown off by the question, blinking and blushing as it set in. He nervously tucked the hair behind his left ear again. "I, um," he stuttered quietly and Demyx instantly regretted his question.

"Oh my god," the blonde said suddenly, his eyes widening. Zexion looked back up at him at the suddenness of it. "You're not even gay are you? I'm sorry I shouldn't have just assumed," he said in a rush, starting to gather his things to leave out of embarrassment. "I'm sorry I asked. I'll just go home n–" he was cut off as he moved to stand by a hand quickly grabbing his wrist. He looked over and saw Zexion looking up at him, still blushing with a look of worry on his face.

"No, don't leave," he told him, his hold tightening gently on his wrist which in turn made the blonde settle back in his seat. Once he was seated again he let go of his wrist and sat back in his own seat. Zexion had his head down and one hand rubbing his neck in a habit of embarrassment. He looked around the room once to check whether or not the blonde had drawn attention to them before looking at the other across the table. "It's fine, I am gay," he said quietly. "And I, I'd love to go on a date with you," he added, giving the blonde a small shy smile before glancing away.

"Great," Demyx said happily and relieved for the second time today. "So um, what kind of date would you like?" he asked.

Zexion thought about before giving a small shrug. "I'm fine with anything as simple as lunch or a movie," he answered.

"Alright, I can do that," the blonde said before his attention was taken away by his phone going off. He glanced at the screen to see who was calling and quickly picked it up. "Uh, sorry," he said. "I actually do have to go now. Would Saturday be fine?" he asked, standing up with his bag.

Zexion nodded. "Yeah, Saturday's fine."

"Great, see you then." With that Demyx walked away while answering his phone as he stepped out the door. Zexion remained to finish the piece of homework he was on before putting his things together and leaving.

* * *

Between then and Saturday, Demyx got Zexion's phone number so he can text him where to meet him for their date. He managed to find a nice but inexpensive place to eat and decided to take Zexion there for lunch. During lunch they talked more about hobbies and interests.

Demyx was happy to find out that Zexion had an interest in music as well as knowing that their music tastes were similar after asking what bands he liked. He also learned that the other was a big video game player and while he himself liked video games, never really played them much. He never had the time or money for new games.

"If you'd like, you could come over and play some sometime," Zexion offered a bit shyly, looking down at his drink.

"Really?" Demyx asked with hints of excitement.

"Yeah," Zexion answered with a small nod. "I don't mind."

Demyx smiled before checking the time on his phone. Seeing that they had been there for almost two hours he noted that maybe they should get going. Zexion agreed and once Demyx paid the check they got up and left. They walked down along the sidewalks, Zexion unaware of where they were going so just followed the blonde absently.

The blonde was watching the other, though this time actually aware of it. He watched as Zexion looked around as they walked, looking anywhere but Demyx which the blonde thought at first was a sign of insult before remembering the other's shyness. Since Wednesday he had been talking more without covering his mouth or hanging his head down when around Demyx, in turn making him forget he was shy and self conscious. But he also that it was nice – that now Zexion was comfortable enough around him to talk freely.

He also was able to see Zexion smile from time to time, getting small glimpses of his braces before the smaller boy caught him watching and quickly looked away. Demyx knew the other didn't like them, but he actually thought that his braces were cute and was happy anytime he got to see them by making the other smile. He also really just liked the other's smile – it was slightly crooked and close to a smirk, but it suited him as far as Demyx could tell.

As they kept walking, Demyx wanted to reach over and take the other's hand, but he wasn't sure if Zexion would be comfortable with that and didn't want to cross any lines. Instead he put his hand in his pocket and asked the other what kind of movies he liked.

At the question, Zexion turned and looked up at the blonde. His eyes wandered in thought before answering, "I'm not too picky. Action and horror movies are probably my favorite. Though I have nothing against comedy or romance. How come?" he asked, stopping by Demyx's side when he noticed him no longer walking.

"Because I wanted to get an idea of which would you'd like to see," Demyx told him, pointing ahead to a small local movie theater, a few people outside on the sidewalk buying tickets at the glass separating them from the ticket booth.

Zexion blinked at the theater before looking back at Demyx. "We don't have to see a movie," he said slowly, moving to hold his hands behind his back.

"Why not? I thought you said that's something you'd like for a date," Demyx said, thinking back to Wednesday.

"Yeah I did, but I said lunch _or_ a movie is fine," Zexion pointed out, hanging his head down. "We don't have to do both. You already paid for lunch, I don't want you to have to buy movie tickets."

"But I want to," the blonde said, leaning down to look at the other's eyes.

"I can pay you back," Zexion said, meeting Demyx's eyes.

"It's fine, don't worry about it," Demyx reassured before standing back up. This time he didn't even think before reaching over and taking the other's hand and leading him to the ticket booth. While in the short line they agreed on a movie and Demyx bought the tickets for the next showing. They went inside and to the theater room they were told the movie would play in, waiting the short amount of time for it to start.

Once it did and the lights turned down, everyone in the theater quieted, their attention now on the screen. Demyx was having trouble focusing all his attention to the movie, his eyes glancing to the boy seated next to him. He knew it'd be a cliché move to put his arm over his shoulders, but he really wanted to. About half way through the movie he decided to just give it a try. Slowly as to not startle the other, he moved his arm up and gently rested it over Zexion's shoulders. He could feel the smaller boy tense up and moved to take his arm back, but was stopped as a hand took his wrist and held him in place.

Zexion's hand lingered on his, making sure that he wasn't going to pull away before letting go. His eyes were still on the screen, too embarrassed to look at the blonde, and Demyx was able to make out his blush in the light of the large screen. The blonde smiled as Zexion slowly leaned against his side, resting his head on his shoulder.

They remained like that for the rest of the movie and once it was over left the theater. They walked along the streets once more, this time heading in the direction of their homes as to not get too far from them. Demyx offered to walk with Zexion until they got to his house. Zexion thought that sounded nice and took the offer. When they got to his house he muttered a small, "Thanks for the date," before walking to his door. Demyx waited until he was out of sight before smiling to himself and walking to his own house.

* * *

When lunch on Monday came around, Zexion had handed Demyx a twenty dollar bill, insisting on him to take it. When asked why Demyx was told it was to pay back for the movie tickets. "This is a bit more than what the movie tickets cost," Demyx pointed out, handing back the money.

Zexion only pushed his hand away. "It's fine, just take it," he said and when Demyx again tried to hand it back gave him a glare and pushed him away again. "I'm not going to take it back."

Demyx sighed before putting the money in his pocket. "Alright, fine." With that out of the way he went back to his extra credit assignments, asking Zexion for help or to check something every now and then until the bell rang for class.

Later that week Demyx took Zexion up on his previous offer to come over to his house and play video games. They agreed that he could come over on Friday after school. On Friday Demyx walked with Zexion until they got to his house and the smaller boy unlocked the door. He let the blonde in and closed the door behind him, showing him where his bedroom was. They had gotten enough of Demyx's extra credit work done during the week so they didn't really have to worry about that.

In Zexion's bedroom he showed the blonde where the games were and let him look at them. Once Demyx chose one Zexion took it and set it up with the console and second controller. He turned on the TV and sat back waiting for it to start up. Demyx picked up the second controller and sat behind the smaller boy, his legs spread on either side of him. He wrapped his arms around Zexion's waist, the controller held in his hands. He smiled reassuringly and felt Zexion relax against his chest.

A short moment later the title menu was on the screen and Zexion chose to start a new game. He put in the game settings before hitting 'okay' and letting the game start. At first Demyx had trouble with the controls, but eventually he memorized them. At one point Demyx's character died in a fight, leaving only Zexion able to keep playing until the fight was over. Demyx leaned back on his hands, watching the screen and noticing that Zexion's character had low health and there were still too many enemies to fight that he couldn't win.

Deciding to have some fun and possibly cut the fight short, he leaned forward over Zexion's left shoulder and without hesitation started kissing his neck. He could feel the smaller boy's body jump and tense at the contact as well as hear the fight on the screen end.

"What was that for?" Zexion asked, leaning away and turning to face the blonde.

Demyx shrugged before saying, "Just because." Zexion only glared at him before looking away, his hand going to on his neck where Demyx had kissed him. "I'm sorry. Did I do something wrong?" he asked, noticing the other's discomfort.

"No," Zexion answered slowly. "I just have never been kissed in any way before," he explained, rubbing his neck.

"Oh," Demyx mused before stopping to think. "Can I be the first to give you a real kiss then?" he asked slowly.

Zexion turned back to him, a little shocked at the question. "I, um, sure," he answered, tucking his hair back in the same way he always did when he got nervous.

Demyx gave a small smile, moving in front of the other, one hand on his shoulder, the other reaching up to push back the hair still in front of his face. It was the first time he was able to clearly see both of the other's eyes as well as all of his face. His eyes were a deep blue and his cheeks shaded a light pink. Upon closer inspection he noticed that Zexion had light, nearly unnoticeable freckles along his cheeks. The blonde smiled again before taking the hand not on the other's shoulder and gently put it under the boy's chin, tilting his head up slightly as he leaned in.

He kissed him gently before pulling away, letting the feeling sink in and waiting for the other's reaction. He put his lips to his once more, this time taking it a bit further as his hand moved once more to push back Zexion's hair. When Zexion started kissing him back, Demyx was a bit surprised by how quickly he picked up on it and how well he was doing for a first kiss. He felt hands grab onto his shirt as the smaller boy leaned in closer before pulling away and letting his shirt go.

Zexion moved away shyly and Demyx smiled at the change of personality both during and after the kiss. "Not bad," he said with a playful smirk only receiving another glare, though he knew the other wasn't really angry by his comment.

* * *

For the rest of the final week before break, the two were able to get the rest of Demyx's extra credit work done and turned in. Zexion still helped him study for the quiz which on the first day back was given to them graded. Once class was over and everyone was leaving, Demyx caught up to Zexion's side. He still had his quiz in hand and happily showed the other the B he had gotten on it.

"See, I told you that you'd do fine," Zexion said with a smile. "Good job." With that he moved to walk down the hall but stopped by the hand on his shoulder.

"Hold on, something's off," Demyx mused to himself while looking the other over. Zexion opened his mouth to say something, but didn't get to as the blonde exclaimed, "You're braces are gone!"

"Yeah, um," Zexion started, rubbing his neck. "I was due to have them removed over break," he said with another smile.

"Aw, you were so cute with braces," the blonde complained. "Though I'm not saying you're no longer cute or anything like that. You're still cute, braces or," his rambling was cut short as lips were suddenly on his own, a hand on his shoulder. He blinked as Zexion pulled away and stood back on his heels. "Zexion?" he asked.

"Yes?"

"Will you be my boyfriend?"

"Of course," he answered, smiling and taking the blonde's hand in his.

* * *

Reviews?


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